Things we forget....

This week just a few small ideas that surfaced after a recent training session I conducted. What we have are the items that surfaced during the course of the training, and I am using them as small training points that could stand individually or serve as a small generalized review.

Personal Equipment Extras - What small equipment should each person carry and what use does it have, and what limitations does each piece of equipment have?

Some items - Good personal flashlight, if rechargeable make sure it is always freshly charged. If you have alkaline batteries, make sure you stash spares somewhere on the pump so you can have them, Make sure the light has a way to attach to your gear and be hands free. The new right angle head lights are very good for this purpose. Make sure the light can be operated with gloved hands, switches should be large enough. Waterproof or water resistant is a must. Light should be kept with you and may be shined upward or outward to attract attention if separated. I have personal reservation about the lights with the large over the shoulder strap, as if you are not careful could serve as entanglement hazard, get wrapped up in SCBA straps etc.

16 ' of tubular webbing. The webbing should be the tubular type not single fold, and it should be clean and new. It can be used to tie an emergency escape 'swiss seat" device for escape. The webbing can also be used to wrap around a civilian victim's chest and be used to drag, and lift a civilian victim to safety. The webbing can also be threaded through the shoulder harness of a downed firefighter's SCBA to drag them in a similar way. Webbing can be used to lift small pieces of equipment.

Wooden Door Chock. A small wooden wedge designed to fit in the hinge side of the door. This will allow you to secure a way out, keep the door open and keep the hoseline free of snags, mark your route of travel etc. Several small chocks can be carried easily. Some firefighters carry "cut nails" with square heads which take up less room by far and can be used for the same thing.

Personal rope: The most common personal rope being carried is an NFPA, one person rated rope, approximately 35 feet in length with two caribiners. This rope can be used as a search tether, a personal escape device, and many other uses on the fireground. Like all rope it should be properly maintained and if it is used for life safety or if it suffers extreme shock or abrasion it should be downgraded or destroyed. It should also be a common size within the department so that all members are carrying the same length, whatever that is and decided upon.

Good pocket knife with serrated edge. Enough said!

SCBA Rule

Train and practice that when preparing to enter a building or hazardous atmosphere all members don their scba and go on air at the same time. Many times we see members breathing air out by the pumper while making their way to the front doo, while other members are going on air right at the front door. Practice repeatedly that all members go on air at the same time.

Have a training session with all members and make sure all members know their working time for a 30 minute cylinder. Also check what happens to the working time for a second bottle. Make sure members are in good physical condition for using SCBA. Overexertion is killing us.

Crew Size

Some times more members are not always a good thing. Too many members and overcrowding of the attack team can be a safety hazard as well. Sometimes more is not always better.

Gloves

Get used to operating with gloves at all times. If you are operating in a hostile environment or any environment and feel you have to remove your gloves, place your right glove under your right knee and your left glove under your left knee and kneel on them. That way in a smoke filled environment no time will be wasted looking for your gloves.

Use these simple training points and review with your troops the items above and get their point of view. The troops are pretty innovative and have some good ideas.

If you are carrying anything else for personal gear, let me know and tell me what your are using it for or anticipating....we can build a list and share it with others.